The Nation - News from Feb. 25, 1988

An Army private accused of deserting to the Soviet Union told the military judge in his court-martial he fled his West German base because he was harassed by his superiors and was told by his first sergeant to stop seeing his German girlfriend. Pvt. Wade E. Roberts testified on the first day of the court-martial at Ft. Dix, N.J. The 22-year-old serviceman from San Bernardino, Calif., pleaded guilty to being absent without leave, but military lawyers are pressing the more serious charge of desertion. If convicted of desertion, Roberts faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.